Industrial lighting applications such as roadway lighting, factory lighting, parking lot lighting, and commercial building lighting often require that the lighting fixtures utilized are mounted flush against a hard ceiling or other surface. In these types of settings the location of the light can often be isolated and/or particularly high in the air. This leads to difficulty in installing and mounting the fixture.
In recent years, the use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for various common lighting purposes has increased, and this trend has accelerated as advances have been made in LEDs and in LED arrays, often referred to as “LED modules.” Indeed, lighting applications which previously had been served by fixtures using what are known as high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps are now beginning to be served by fixtures using LED-array-bearing modules.
Among the leaders in development of LED-array modules is Philips Lumileds Lighting Company of Irvine, Calif. Work continues in the field of LED module development, and also in the field of using LED modules for various lighting fixtures in various applications. It is the latter field to which this invention relates.
Floodlights using LED modules as light source for various applications present particularly challenging problems in fixture development, particularly when floodlight mounting locations and structures will vary. Among other things, placement of the electronic LED power units (LED drivers) for lighting fixtures using LED arrays can be particularly problematic. In some cases, keeping such electronic LED drivers in a water/air-tight location may not be difficult, but if mounting locations and structures vary, then location and protection of such components becomes difficult and adds development costs and potential problems. Lighting-fixture adaptability is an important goal for LED floodlights that are often presented and mounted in different ways.
Heat dissipation is another problem for LED floodlights and in fact all large industrial type lights. And, the goals of dealing with heat dissipation and protection of electronic LED drivers and/or other internal systems and wiring can often be conflicting, contrary goals.